i think making anakin older from the start, ditching qui-gon in favor of obi-wan (maybe he's between padawans, or maybe he's seeking his first padawan, or maybe his padawan does get killed in epI) would have GREATLY improved the prequels.

it also would have de-creepifyed the anakin/padme relationship in epI.

(i overall didn't care for the epI novel, but I did like that they made it much more clear/obvious that anakin really can sense the future, and that when he says he's gonna marry padme, he means in a more matter-of-fact way, since he has this great force power. it's not just some creepy thing a kid says.)